Most letterhead follows one of two familiar formats — a standard 8.5 by 11 inch sheet for everyday US correspondence, or an 8.5 by 14 inch legal sheet for firms that need the extra length. Custom letterhead exists for the situations that fall outside either of those defaults: a firm with an established paper standard tied to a specific size, a layout built around a non-standard margin or fold, or correspondence meant to be printed on a distinctive stock that a standard order wouldn't accommodate. It's less about a dramatically different shape and more about precision — getting the size, weight and printed layout to match exactly what a firm has already decided its correspondence should look like. Paper choice does more work on letterhead than on almost any other printed piece, because it's often the first physical thing a client or partner touches from a company. A 24 lb bond is the common baseline for everyday internal and external correspondence — smooth enough to print and write on cleanly, substantial enough not to feel flimsy. Moving up to a 28 lb or 32 lb stock, or to a cotton or linen-textured paper, adds a tactile weight that reads as more established — the kind of stock typically reserved for law firms, financial services, and client-facing correspondence where the paper itself is part of the impression. Watermarked or laid-texture stock is a further step up, often chosen by firms that want their letterhead to be recognizable by feel alone. Layout on custom letterhead usually centers on a header block — logo, firm name, address and contact details — positioned to leave enough clear space for a standard business letter format, plus a lighter-weight footer for licensing numbers, additional office locations, or legal disclaimers where required. Because letterhead gets reproduced constantly, whether on a laser printer for one-off letters or via offset printing for a bulk supply, it's worth confirming early whether the design needs to print well in both black-and-white and full color, since not every layout translates cleanly to a single-color office printer. Before ordering, it helps to settle the finished size and orientation, the paper weight and finish, and how the letterhead will actually be used day to day — a small firm printing a handful of letters a week has very different needs than an office running a shared printer through hundreds of sheets a month. Matching the order quantity and print method to actual usage, rather than defaulting to the largest run available, keeps the letterhead both cost-effective and current if contact details or branding change down the line.